Amateur Night
by Shiloh Taemi
Summary: The picture on the flyer is of Sakura giving a wink and a knowing smile. She's headlining amateur night at the Kunai, Images of a dancing Sakura twirling on a pole flit into Kakashi's imagination and he undertakes a mission to prove himself wrong. What he discovers is nothing that he expected, and forces him to look at his former student and himself in a different light.


This is my first foray into the anime world of Fan fiction. Tumblr is currently having a Kakasaku week, and I couldn't help but participate. This is for the prompt A Secret. I did my best to keep them in character, I hope you enjoy it. _I don't own Naruto or any of the characters, I just like Fangirling in their world. _

**Amateur Night**

Spring came to Konoha for the third time since the end of the fourth great Shinobi war. The wind was up scattering pollen and petals through the streets of the fully restored hidden city. It was the first truly warm day, and the streets were full of civilians and ninja. Kakashi Hatake was meandering through the market, one hand buried in a pocket the other holding his favorite book up as he maneuvered the busy square, side stepping an exuberant Genin team, who hastily called out a half hearted apology to the former general over their shoulders. He smirked under his mask and turned the page. The wind whipped up a frenzy stirring leaves and petals into a small vortex, a vendor had to hold her skirt down, Kakashi kept his eyes politely averted, as his messy white hair was pushed into his eyes despite his hitiate. The pages of his weathered book turned on their own, his thumb doing little to keep his place. He closed it with a snap and tucked it into his back pouch. So much for reading.

He ran an irritated hand through his disheveled locks, pulling a trapped sakura petal out. He brought the delicate pink petal to his nose rubbing it gently between his fingers and inhaled before releasing it to the wind. The air was full of spring scents, wet earth, blooming flowers, cold water, and old decomposing leaves, it was full of life, and he was glad he was still alive to experience it all again. The fourth war had changed everyone, and Kakashi had not been immune. While the bingo books still named him copy cat Kakashi, nothing was further from the truth these days. He had lost the Sharingan that had allowed him the ability to copy jutsu's. He still retained the memories of proper hand signs needed to activate the jutsu's he had learned, but he would not be learning or copying anything new without the Uchiha eye Obito had gifted him as a child. Three years later and he was still adjusting to the change, but he was adaptable, and he managed just fine without the chakra draining red eye. He was still quick, he was still a tactician and frankly not having his chakra in a constant state of use was a relief, allowing him more overall stamina. He had even added winking to his trademark eye crinkle smile; Hatake's were nothing if not adaptable.

A bright yellow flyer flew into his face blocking his vision for a moment before he pulled it off scowling at the offending paper. It was pure happenstance that the large bolded name and picture caught his attention before he had a chance to crumple it and toss it in the nearest garbage can. His scowl deepened, then turned confused as he re-read the words in front of him, processing them.

_Amateur night at The Kunai! Featuring heartbreaker Haruno Sakura. Don't miss her performance Thursday at 10:00pm_

Her picture smiled up at him with a face he knew all too well, winking at him mischievously. Amateur night, heartbreaker, performance, Kakashi scowled harder at the paper, trying to will away the conclusion his mind went to. He had to be wrong. There was no way. The smile was knowing, the wink was flirting, there had to be some kind of mistake, because Kakashi knew in his heart that his former student, second generation Sanin, medic extraordinaire said to have surpassed the Hokage herself, would not be, could not be stripping. Right?

Unbidden, images flooded his minds eye, images of his munch younger student in black lingerie twirling on a pole, smiling at him with the same smile in the poster, winking knowingly at him, he let go of the paper like a man burned and the wind carried it away. He shook his head, he wouldn't admit it to anyone, but maybe Sakura was right, and he had finally re-read the Icha icha series one too many times.

Of course there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for this, that thought, however didn't stop his over active imagination. He would just go and find Sakura, and ask her himself what this performance was all about. He picked up the pace thinking of where his former student would be at this time of day. Since the end of the war she was on the forefront of shinobi medical jutsu's, the peace treaties meant a constant stream of foreign medic nins doing apprenticeships at Konoha General. The hospital was the most likely place. Kakashi stopped in his tracks. Maybe he could figure out what was going on through her friends. Sakura was a busy woman after all, never mind he was 3 years past due on his annual check up, he headed towards the Ramen shop instead, Naruto would know.

Sakura was giving a tour of the poison and antidote wing of the hospital to a group of visiting Cloud medic nins. She was going over the finer points of poison extraction on a dummy, demonstrating the complicated jutsu to a rapt audience. She tuned out the sound of pen scrapping on paper as the visiting nins took notes on the technique. She deposited the purple low grade poison in a bowl with a triumphant smile.

"Like I said, it's like threading a needle, with practice any medic nin can master the form." She glanced at the clock on the wall ticking softly in the background, four o'clock. "Any questions?"

"What time are you going to be hitting the stage tonight at the Kunai?" A dark skinned nin, with an arrogant smile called from the back of the room. The rest of the cloud nins looked at her expectantly.

"Ten, any questions about the poison extractions?" She answered with a smirk. Her new hobby had garnered her more attention than she had ever anticipated. When no further questions came up she dismissed the Cloud nin.

She never thought getting caught singing in the shower by Ino would turn into her headlining at a bars amateur night. She never expected to be good at it, that her voice could do anything but yell at her idiot teammates, but she could carry a tune, and really belt them out with a voice that was smooth and gravelly all at once. The more she sang the more she was able to channel her passion, her anxiety, when she was on stage she lost her titles and even though she was in front of an audience, she was able to be vulnerable, and sing out her emotions. She remained to this day a sensitive girl, she knew she felt too much, she cared too much, every loss, every pain a friend or loved one felt she felt as well. So she sang, and she started writing her own songs and singing them at the Thursday night Kunai amateur night, again at Ino's insistence. She had got a standing ovation on her first night.

The very first song she had written was still a private affair. The catalyst of the war had been her former sensei's team mate. As the war drew on, and the battle raged, barbs were flung, each of them tearing open Kakashi's old scars. When the day was won, she found him, and he was bent over Obito's body a broken man, she had never seen him so raw, he wept for his old friend. She heard him apologize to the dead Uchiha in a broken voice over and over again. At the time she didn't know how to approach him, if she even should. The moment was lost when she was called back to the triage tent, leaving Kakashi to his grief. When she saw him next his walls were back up, any trace of what she had seen carefully buried deep inside of him. He was full of pride and congratulations for his team, the kids he had been given to train all those years ago, he was Kakashi Sensei, the anchor to their team. She had hugged him, squeezing his sides trying to wordlessly tell him she was there for him. He had rested his chin on her head briefly and called her a kind girl before breaking the embrace. Since that day there had been something unspoken between them, and she wasn't sure if he knew she had seen him, she suspected, or if it was a simple genuine affection between them. He had been her muse for that very first song, a song full of pain and understanding, an encouragement to him to keep going, because no matter what she would always be there. It wasn't a confession of love, but it was still deeply personal. She was ready to sing it in public, no one knew who or what the song was about but her, still she wanted him to hear it. She was curious to see how deep their link went, wanted to see how deep the rabbit hole went, if the softness she saw in his dark grey eyes was all in her head or not. She was resolved, she would invite him personally to her performance that night, she would make sure he wasn't late. A wicked gleam touched her face, she hung up her lab coat and made her way to the streets of Konoha to hunt a certain elusive Jonin.

Kakashi found Naruto with Sasuke a few steps from the ramen shop, the blond patting his stomach contentedly, the Uchiha prodigy rolling his eyes.

"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto greeted him with a slap on the back, Sasuke nodded at him.

"Yo." He lifted an arm lazily giving a mock salute. He took a deep breath, bracing himself, "So Naruto, what's new?" Sasuke gave Kakashi an exasperated look, _why would you do that?_ As expected Naruto smiled wide and began an inarticulate yet strangely long winded account of his latest goings on. His arms waving madly as he spoke for emphasis. The wind had died down, and Kakashi only half listened as the savior of the Shinobi world told him about an old angry cat that hissed at him that morning and his theories that animals could sense Kuruma. He reached for his back pocket and flipped his book open, he heard Sasuke sigh, having no doubt already heard the theories and stories. The last Uchiha had finally had enough and grunted an excuse, leaving them alone.

"Oi, Sasuke! Don't forget tonight, Sakura goes on at ten! Don't be late." Kakashi's ears perked, he glanced up from his book.

"You're telling the wrong person not to be late, idiot." He lifted a hand giving a lazy wave as he turned and left his team mates.

"That's right, Kakashi, you haven't seen her on stage yet have you? You should come tonight! Sakura is a natural up there, she can cast a spell on the whole room, she's really amazing!" He recounted enthusiastically, blue eyes taking on a faraway look.

"Oh?" _What does she do on that stage?_ "What does she do that would make her so special? Sakura's never been one for being in front of crowds."

"That's the thing though, it's like she's up there just for her, just her and the music and it's like there's no one else in the room. It's hard to explain, she's just really passionate and she kind of turns into this other person, only it's more like the real her. Just come and see for yourself Kaka-Sensei. You won't regret it." Naruto slapped him on the back. _Dammit Naruto that didn't help at all_. "She goes on at ten at the Kunai, it's new in the entertainment district. Don't be late Kakashi-Sensei!"

Kakashi's throat felt dry, no one else in the room, passionate, other person, still if she was stripping he had no doubt Naruto and Sasuke would have put an end to it, there was no way they would go watch their team mate and friend take her clothes off and act so casual about it. Right? They were both protective of her, much to her consternation; it didn't make sense that they would treat such a hobby with so much encouragement and acceptance. He was missing something, what else could it be? Simple dance? Not in a bar. Poetry? He had a hard time picturing Sakura getting a room so enraptured with something like poetry, Gai and Lee maybe, but not a whole room. Singing? He had never pictured Sakura with any sort of singing voice, it was usually either calm, or loud and shrill in some sort of scream or yell aimed at her team before she knocked them clear across the training grounds. That being said, she hadn't had an outburst like that in quite some time. Whatever she was doing, performing, he would need to see for himself if he wanted a straight answer, or he would need to ask her directly, and frankly he still didn't relish the idea of bringing up the subject. Why was this bothering him so much? She was a grown woman now, not his little twelve year old student. She was a capable Kunoichi, more than capable, and how she decided to spend her free time was really none of his business. Would he really respect her less if she took her clothes off for fun? Tsunade herself was known to turn on the charm when the need arose, it was part of being a Kuonichi to have that inner seductress, and who was he to judge if she was discovering that side of herself on her own terms? So why did he want to throw a sheet over her head and hide her away where no one else could see her, why did the vision of her twirling around a pole wearing nothing but his Jonin shirt keep flitting into his mind? _Son of a_… He snapped Icha Icha closed again and rubbed his eyes. Besides, there was no reason for this anxiety, because she wasn't stripping, it was just too out of character for her, and those thoughts were ridiculous, and maybe she would be wearing those little black shorts of hers under the shirt…or a red lacy thong…or nothing at all….He hit his forehead with the heel of his hand repeatedly. He needed a shower, probably a cold one.

Sakura was about to leave the stoop of Kakashi's apartment building when she noticed her wayward former Sensei's chakra appear on his balcony. She wasted no time, and directed chakra to her feet and climbed the walls to appear beside him. He looked sidelong at her before dissipating the jutsu around his sliding door, allowing him to step in, he left the door open and Sakura took it as a silent invitation.

"Good evening Sakura." He gave her a warm masked smile, keeping to his usual calm demeanor in front of her.

"Hi Kakashi. I've been looking for you." She smiled widely at him.

"Oh? What do you want Sakura-chan?" His grey eyebrow arching up as he took off his vest, tossing it on his couch. Her smile turned into a mock pout.

"Why do I have to want something? What if I just wanted to visit with my favorite ex-Sensei?" She crossed her arms but her face didn't bother to hide her mirth at the familiar banter.

"I'm your favorite?! Wait until I tell Tsunade, I get to cash in my bet now. Thanks Sakura." He crossed his arms, winking at her. There was no way she was stripping, she wouldn't have been able to keep a secret like that, she was too honest and open, and although she could flirt effortlessly by virtue of just being herself she was no seductress. The girl his imagination had conjured up was not the same girl standing in his apartment. He felt a wave of relief, he could handle this Sakura, his team mate and friend.

"Don't you dare Kakashi! She'll put me on doubles at the hospital for even joking about that. Our secret alright?" She winked back at him conspiratorially.

"Ah, but a secret doesn't win me money. Speaking of secrets, what's all this talk about you preforming at the Kunai tonight?" _That really wasn't so bad_. Only she was blushing and turning away from him. Why was Sakura blushing?

"About that." She ran a hand through her hair and started chewing on her lower lip. "It's nothing really, just a silly hobby, but I was hoping that maybe tonight." Sakura was trying hard to fight down the flush of nerves that had suddenly overcome her. The song didn't mean anything, except that it did and she wanted him to hear it, to know that she understood him, that she cared about him. What if it went right over his head? There were days where Kakashi could be unbelievable perceptive, and then there were days when he was a dense as a box of bricks. "Tonight, you could come. It's just that Naruto, Sasuke, even Yamato and Sai have all come out, it feels weird not sharing this with you Kakashi. It would mean a lot."

"If it means that much to you Sakura, sure." The air in the apartment had changed, there was a charge between them. The silence stretched, and Sakura gave Kakashi a shy smile, the tip of something on her tongue by the looks of it. Kakashi waited but she just shifted nervously.

"Well, good! I'll be around here to pick you up at nine thirty. You can't let me be late to my own show, so be ready." She gave him a forced stern look, and he nodded.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Kakashi murmured as she made her way to his front door. Her actions, her sudden nervousness made him all the more curious. She was hiding something, of that he was certain, he just couldn't figure out what it was.

"Nine thirty. Be ready to go." She called over her shoulder.

"Yes Taichou!" He gave her a mock salute.

She left with a shake of her head, but her cheeks were still stained by that nervous blush, accenting the color of her hair rather nicely. Her scent lingered in the air, fresh, with a hint of honey, he stood where he was a moment longer. Unbidden his previous naughty imagery returned to his mind's eye, Sakura was still in his Jonin shirt, and that cute little blush of hers and nothing more. He moved like he had been stung, heading for the shower. Sakura Haruno was a mystery to him, and he found it enticing. What was it that made her blush like that, was it really preforming? Or was it preforming for him? The idea that he could be the cause of that blush in any way, made his stomach twist. He didn't' want to think about how she was fourteen years younger than him, he didn't want to think of their history together. There was a shift and Kakashi Hatake found himself looking at her in a light he never had thought to shine on her. He hurried to the shower.

Sakura's heeled boots clacked their way back to Kakashi's apartment later that night. She had changed out of her regular medic clothes in favor of what Ino liked to call her rock star clothes. It really wasn't anything special, a pair of skinny jeans, a red tank top with a black vest. What made the outfit were the tall leather boots she wore over the jeans and the long but simple feathered earrings. She wore little make up as was her norm, and even kept her red hitiate in her hair. The nervousness started seeping back into her the closer she got to his apartment building. She knocked on his door and tried not to be surprised when he opened it in a fresh set of clothes ready to go. She also noticed how his eyes widened when he looked at her. Her cheeks felt warm and she looked away .

"Ready?" She asked, her voice a pitch higher than normal.

_No_, "Yep!"

The jeans she was wearing should be illegal was all he could think of as they walked to the bar, they looked painted on, and he couldn't help but notice how long her legs were or how round her ass was. They sat low on her hips, and every now and then he caught a glimpse of hip or lower back when her tank top rode up. It really was a lovely view, maybe Sakura stripping wasn't such a bad idea after all. He shook his head and furrowed his brow internally scolding his twitching hands.

The Kunai looked like nothing more than a hole in the wall, but once inside it was larger, darkly lit, smoky, with many round tables positioned around a curtained off stage, with a dark mahogany bar in the back lined with stools. The curtains were open that night and the civilian house band were strumming and warming up, candles and red velvet seemed to be the theme of the night and Kakashi's vision went from a pole with a scantily clad woman, to a fan dance or some other sort of burlesque show. He felt warm under his mask, his palms were sweaty in their fingerless gloves. His feet had stopped moving and his expression was clearly one of anxiety. _He was wrong, he was wrong, he was wrong, wasn't he? _

"Ne, Kakashi? What's wrong?" Sakura stopped a handful of paces in front of him when she realized he had stopped following.

He cleared his throat blinking up at her expectant face, "Nothing, I'm just going to grab a drink." He surprised himself when his voice came out calm and natural.

"Oh, alright, I have to go back stage a get ready, but Naruto and Sasuke are already here at the table up front. Enjoy the show Kakashi!" She walked away and when did her hips start to sway like that? He felt sweat bead at his hairline and decided a cold beer was exactly what he needed.

Thoughts of blending into the wall were quickly squashed when the blonde future hokage caught sight of him. "OI KAKASHI SENSEI! WE SAVED YOU A SPOT!"

"Senpai!" Tenzou clapped him on the shoulder giving him a smile, "I see you've come to take in the show as well."

"Yeah." He mumbled his response as he was guided to the table.

The spotlight hit the stage, and the idle strumming of the house band stopped, Sakura walked on and the crowd cheered. When Kakashi looked around he noticed that the bar was filled nearly to capacity, he recognized nearly all of Sakura's classmates, the now infamous rookie nin, he counted many of his own generation and some in-between. She positioned herself in front of the microphone, Kakashi was struck by the way the light hit her, making her bright pink hair glow, and her unique green eyes shine. She smiled out at the crowd, offering a small wave to the gathered friends and strangers who had come to see her.

"Hi everyone, tonight I have a new song I wanted to sing…."

"PLAY HEARTBREAK KID!"

"Shut up Ino Pig! Anyways this is the very first song I ever wrote, it was written after witnessing a dear friend lose a loved one during the war, something I'm sure we all know and understand all too well. It's called The Great Escape." She looked down at him through the glare of the spotlight, and offered him a small smile.

The piano started to play and the room grew quiet, Sakura's voice was low and melodic with a rough edge to it. Each word she sang was filled with meaning and heart. Kakashi was captivated and from the way the words seemed to be meant for him he could feel all of his repressed pain and emotion stir in his chest, her eyes never left his, and he felt exposed. A part of him wanted her to stop because it hurt to feel, the other part of him felt a sort of catharsis at hearing his emotions put into words and sung with so much passion. He was caught between fight and flight, his instincts having told him to run away from feeling these things for so long, so he gripped his beer making his knuckles white and he gave in to what Sakura had insisted on exposing him to. He drank away the lump forming in his throat when the song ended leaving the entire room silent, evidently he hadn't been the only one affected by the music. He didn't know when he had closed his eyes, but when they blinked open again it was right into hers, there were tear tracks on her cheeks. The first slow clap rang through the room, prompting the riveted crowd to answer the call and add to the cacophony. Naruto whistled loudly next to him, and if Kakashi had bothered to survey the room he would have noticed that there were very few dry eyes. He needed air, his mask chaffed at his skin, when Sakura left the stage he excused himself. Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn't been that. Stripping or a burlesque show would have been easier, it wouldn't have left him staring back at the broken trash that he was, and damn it, it hurt. When he rounded into the alley he pulled his mask down and gulped down air scrubbing a hand over his face. He stared at his fingers confused when he felt moisture without thinking he wove hand signals, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. He was running, again, he could face down nearly any enemy, but when it was his own fear and shortcomings he always ran, just like the song said.

Sakura had watched his reaction as she sang, he had looked stunned, then she saw it, the undercurrent of emotion, something most people who didn't know him missed, she saw how his brows knitted together, how his hands would still. When he closed his eyes and bowed his head she felt the same pull she had felt towards him when she had found him with Obito's body. She wanted to hold him and take it away, but there were hurts even a medic couldn't heal. When she went to the table where team seven had been siting he was gone, and really she shouldn't have been surprised. She had half an hour before she went up for her next song, Naruto told her through a too tight hug that Kakashi had gone outside for some air. She circled the bar, but his chakra signature was gone, he had run.

She sang the last song of the night and last call was announced. The civilians and Shinobi trickled out of the bar. The night was cool but comfortable, the angry wind having died down to a comfortable breeze. It was nearly four in the morning, and she felt dead on her feet, it had been a good night, still she wished Kakashi had stayed. She waved goodbye to her friends in various states of inebriation and made her way home. Two streets away from her apartment she sensed him, Kakashi walked into the light of a lamp post and lifted his hand.

"Yo."

"Hey."

There was tension between them, it was strange. She knew then that she had touched a nerve, a very raw nerve in him.

"I never knew you could sing like that. It wasn't what I was expecting."

"Everyone has a hobby."

She walked closer to him, his left hand was opening and closing in a fist, his right buried in his pocket, his eyes not quite meeting hers.

"I'm sorry I left early."

"I half expected it. The song is called The Great Escape for a reason Kakashi, it's about you."

At that his eyes snapped up no longer avoiding. Who was this woman in front of him? This perceptive person who he knew yet didn't. He had walked for hours, not going home, he spent time at the cenotaph trying to make sense of things with Rin, but she wasn't one for words. When he sensed Sakura's chakra he had been drawn to it, he told himself it was to make sure she got home alright, but he knew she could take care of herself. It was probably guilt, it was always guilt, she knew that, the song was about him.

"What?"

"I saw you saying goodbye to Obito." She saw his eyebrows furrow. " I wish you could see yourself through the eyes of someone who cares for you, I wish you would stop punishing yourself."

She took a step forward and Kakashi noticed how close she was. The honey scent was still there but mingled now with the smoke from the bar, the breeze blowing her into his senses.

"You're a kind girl Sakura."

"And you're a good man Kakashi. If only you would believe it."

He took a step back, his voice had grown quiet. If he was so good he wouldn't be thinking of kissing her, he felt vulnerable, familiar panic flooded him, he should go.

"No."

"You don't need to be alone."

She took a step towards him, keeping eye contact, willing him not to run. His left hand had formed into a fist and had stopped flexing. He had grown very still, he was scared. She took a chance and reached out, taking his fist in her hands, squeezing it lightly, easing his fingers open and fitting her small hand into his.

"Sakura."

"You don't need to run from me, Kakashi."

She took another step forward, her head was just below his, her small hand was firm in his, her skin cool and dry. Honey and smoke, he wondered if she could hear his heartbeat. He pulled his right hand out of his pocket and it was shaking when he placed it under her chin and tilted her head up.

"You should probably run from me, Sakura. When did you become so perceptive?"

"I once had a teacher tell me to always look underneath the underneath."

He laughed at that, his shaking hand opening to trace a light finger along her cheek, then into her hair, he thread another finger into it, then another, until he smelled more honey and smoke. He couldn't breathe. She wasn't running, he wasn't waking up from a dream, she was the Sakura he knew, not a figment of his imagination. Her free hand was on his neck, then on his masked cheek, her fingers slipped underneath.

"Can I?"

"Yes"

His voice was a whisper, her fingers pulled the fabric down, and when it pooled around his neck he took a long breath, if felt like relief. He lowered his forehead to hers while her cool fingers ran over the contours of his hidden face. He closed his eyes, it felt good to be seen, the mask was superfluous considering she had seen past his walls years ago apparently. Despite the façade he put on she had managed to see through it all. What was a bit of fabric if he couldn't hide from her anyways. Her thumb swept over his lips and the jolt of electricity brought him back, opening his eyes. She was looking at him, looking at his lips, he felt exposed. When he dipped his head to hers, meeting her lips, his own lips were shaking nearly as badly as his hand. Her hand wove into his hair to the back of his neck, pulling him into her. He felt dizzy, honey and smoke, she tasted like alcohol and mint and when her tongue swept across his lips he opened up to her in a relieved groan. He tilted her head to deepen the kiss because if he stopped now his heart would jump out of his chest. If he stopped kissing her his mind might catch up to him, and he didn't want to think of anything beyond how good she smelled, how she tasted, how she saw him, and cared anyways. There was no oxygen in his lungs but he felt like he had just come up for air after spending years underwater. When they did part they were breathing hard, she wrapped her arms around his waist and he hugged her back burying his face in her hair. He felt her yawn against him and he loosened his grip on her. She looked up at him with a sleepy grin, grabbing his hand walking him towards her apartment.

"So, you said my performance wasn't what you were expecting. What were you expecting from me?" She gave him a sidelong glance.

Kakashi looked at the small hand in his, still wondering how he got here. "It's really not important."

* * *

Thanks for reading, reviews are always appreciated and welcome. Song reference here is The Great Escape by Pink.


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